Acupuncture for Heavy Periods

How Chinese medicine understands heavy periods

In Chinese medicine, the Spleen is said to “hold the Blood in the vessels”. A period that comes on time, runs a few days and stops is a sign that the Blood is being held and released as it should. Heavy bleeding means something is pushing the Blood out, or failing to hold it in.

The common patterns are:

• Spleen Qi deficiency. A heavy, pale, watery flow that goes on and on, with tiredness, a poor appetite, loose stools and bruising easily. The Blood is not being held.
• Heat in the Blood. A heavy, bright red or dark flow, often early, with thirst, feeling hot, irritability and sometimes skin flare-ups. In this view, heat makes the Blood move recklessly.
• Blood stasis. Heavy bleeding with dark clots and pain, often starting and stopping. The theory is that blocked Blood cannot return to the vessels, so it spills out. Fibroids are often read this way.
• Kidney deficiency. Irregular, heavy bleeding in the years before menopause, with a sore lower back and tiredness.

Holding the Blood, cooling it and moving it are three different strategies. That is why two people with heavy periods can get quite different plans.

What treatment involves

Your first visit includes a lot of questions: how many days you bleed, how often you change protection, clots, pain, and how you feel in the days after. I look at your tongue and take your pulse. Bring a record of a few cycles, and any ultrasound or blood test results.

Chinese herbal medicine is often central here, because heavy bleeding is an internal problem. You take a formula written for your pattern and dispensed at the clinic, and it may change at different points in your cycle.

Acupuncture is used alongside herbs, with points chosen to support the Spleen, calm heat or regulate the cycle, depending on the pattern. For a weak, cold pattern, gentle moxibustion may be used.

Plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress, and judge the bleeding over several cycles. The clinic is in Keswick, and treatment can run alongside the care of your family doctor or gynaecologist. If pain is the bigger problem than blood loss, see the period cramps page.

Between visits

• Track your bleeding. Note the days, how often you change protection, and any clots. It is the most useful thing you can bring to your doctor.
• Ask about your iron. Heavy periods are a common cause of low iron. A simple blood test can check it.
• Eat iron-rich foods such as red meat, beans, lentils and dark leafy greens, with a source of vitamin C.
• Rest on the heaviest days where you can. In Chinese medicine, overwork is thought to weaken the Spleen further.

When to see your doctor first

Heavy bleeding needs a medical assessment to find its cause. See your doctor if you have:

• Bleeding that soaks a pad or tampon every hour for several hours.
• Signs of anaemia: dizziness, fainting, a racing heart, shortness of breath or unusual tiredness.
• Bleeding between periods, after sex, or after menopause.
• A sudden change from your usual cycle, or periods that keep getting heavier.
• Pelvic pain or pressure, or a feeling of fullness in the lower belly.
• Heavy bleeding while taking blood thinners.

Go to emergency if you are bleeding very heavily and feel faint, or if you could be pregnant and have heavy bleeding or severe pain.